Sheboygan committee recommends sale of 58 acres to Amazon amid public concerns about price, protections and jobs

The Sheboygan City Finance and Personnel Committee on the evening it met recommended that the common council approve a purchase-and-sale agreement with Amazon.com Services LLC for 58.1 acres at Stahl Road and South Taylor Drive, a parcel described in the contract for a "Class A logistics facility." The committee vote followed more than an hour of public comment and detailed questions from committee members about contract language, job assurances, assignment rights and long-term uses.

Residents at the public-comment section urged caution. "Somebody's gotten a really good deal here," Mark Gosowitz said, arguing that the city's proposed $35,000-per-acre sale is far below comparable local appraisals. Lisa Salgado, who reviewed the contract, said the agreement as written "does not require Amazon to build anything," gives the company up to two years before closing, caps the city's remedy for a walk-away at $50,000, and contains a confidentiality clause that limits public disclosure without Amazon's consent.

Jason, an Amazon representative who joined the meeting virtually, and city staff responded to those concerns in the committee discussion. Jason said the facility under consideration is a human-focused delivery/logistics facility and that comparable first‑mile automated facilities are a different building type. He estimated a capital investment typically between $30 million and $50 million for such a site and said "this facility does require a certain number of people to operate," adding that his expectation was "150 to 200, minimally, for us to hit capacity." He also invited committee members to tour a nearby Appleton facility.

City attorney Majerus pointed to contract language that the property's contemplated use is as a warehouse and distribution facility and noted a clause giving the city a right of first refusal if a logistics building is not constructed on the parcel within 10 years. On assignment, Majerus said the purchase agreement binds "permitted assignees" (defined to include the purchaser's parent or wholly owned subsidiaries) and that the contractual requirements would carry to such assignees. He cautioned, however, that adding bespoke prohibitions (for example, an absolute ban on any future data center use) could make this transaction materially different from other deals and might risk losing the project if Amazon declines to accept additional changes.

Several committee members pressed for stronger, enforceable assurances on job creation and local business impacts. "This is a uniquely powerful organization that is able to directly compete with local small businesses," Alder Close said, calling for protections to mitigate negative externalities on Sheboygan's small-business ecosystem. Other alderpersons described prior economic-development efforts to recruit a large employer and said they supported moving the project forward to avoid losing it to another jurisdiction.

City staff told the committee that Valbridge appraised the land at roughly $38,000 per acre assuming the road remained public right-of-way; the sale price of $35,000 per acre reflects the buyer's agreement to remove road and infrastructure at its cost. Staff also said there is no TID incentive associated with the transaction.

After debate the committee defeated a motion to postpone consideration until the city's zoning code has been finalized and then approved a motion recommending the purchase-and-sale agreement to the full council (motion by Alderman Ballinger; second by Alderman Decker). The committee recorded the recommendation as approved; the item proceeds as a committee recommendation to council for final action.

What happens next: the committee's approval is a recommendation to the common council. Any final site plan, building permits or a change of use would require Plan Commission review and council action as required by local land-use procedures.